Agricultural disaster looms in flood-affected north-east of Cambodia
14/8/2007 16:44
More than 19,000 hectares of rice paddies in the north-east of Cambodia
have been submerged under flood waters for over a week, threatening
food-security and livelihoods there, local media said today.
An estimated
15,000 hectares of paddy fields in Kompong Thom have been inundated, with 60
percent possibly ruined, while about 3,000 hectares in Preah Vihear have been
flooded with 80 percent of fields affected, Nhim Vanda, first vice president of
the National Committee for Disaster Management, was quoted by Cambodian-language
newspaper the Kampuchea Thmey as saying.
In Ratanakiri province 1,660
hectares have been flooded with about 80 percent of fields possibly destroyed,
said Nhim Vanda, who has been dispatched into the field to monitor the flood
situation in each province.
The flooding, which began earlier this month, has
also forced the evacuation of 19,000 people from their homes, though
approximately 80 percent have now returned, said the paper.
Two adults in
Preah Vihear drowned along with nearly 100 buffalos tied in stables, and around
four kilometers of national roads in the province and seven kilometers of
provincial tracks have also been destroyed, it added.
Four districts in
Kompong Thom adjacent to Preah Vihear have suffered from the floods, which
originated in the latter province, said Nhim Vanda, adding that about 70 rescue
boats have been sent to the region.
Agriculture is Cambodia's third largest
pillar industry.
Xinhua
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